Acoustic radiation force in biomedical applications: origin, past, present, and future

Abstract

In this talk, an overview of history and physical basis of biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force with a further look into new developments in this field will be presented. In 1902, Lord Rayleigh published his classical work on the theory of sound, introducing the concept of acoustic radiation pressure. Experimental demonstration of radiation force acting on particles in the standing wave field was made by August Kundt (1874). Much later, Wood and Loomis built radiation force balance (1927). Detailed analysis of ultrasound radiation force related to biomedical applications was made in numerous reviews and original articles of Wes Nyborg in the 1960s and 1970s. In spite of over century-old history, most of the significant biomedical applications of acoustic radiation force became known and were extensively studied only during last couple of decades. We will present and discuss recent progress in numerous applications such as the elasticity imaging, assessing viscoelastic properties of biological tissue, monitoring lesions during therapy, the manipulation of cells in suspension, acoustical tweezers, targeted drug and gene delivery. In addition to well established applications, the acoustic radiation force has considerable potential in numerous new areas, which will be discussed in the talk. [NIH R21AR065024.]